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SER M. fumptuously imagine themselves to be in I. lefs danger than they really are.

THE Occafion of the Words, was This. Our Saviour having caft out a Devil, and healed the diseased perfon, fo that he who had been dumb and blind, immediately both fpake and faw; the People, astonished at the greatness of the Miracle, began to express their opinion, that he must needs be the Meffias, ver. 23; Upon which, certain Pharifees, hardened by their Malice and Hypocrify beyond all Conviction, fuggefted to the People, that poffibly it might be by Confederacy with the Prince of the Devils, that Jefus thus caft out Devils; ver. 24. To This our Saviour replies; Whatever is done by Confederacy with evil Spirits, must be fomething that promotes the Intereft of the Kingdom of Satan, and not any thing directly contrary thereto; unless a Kingdom can be fupported by Divifions within itself; ver. 25: Every Kingdom divided against itself, is brought to Defolation; and every City or Houfe divided against itself, shall not stand. If therefore cafting out Devils, and that

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in Proof of a Doctrine directly oppofite to SER M. the Intereft of the Kingdom of Satan, be a thing not to be done by Confederacy with Evil Spirits; than nothing, fays he, can be more abfurdly malicious, than this your Accufation of me; ver. 26; If Satan caft out Satan, he is divided against himfelf how then fhall his Kingdom stand? But if the thing itself be apparent; and ye cannot without extreme Unreasonableness and the utmost Degree of Malice, deny it, that what I do, is by the immediate Power of God; then here is a convincing Proof offered you, that I am truly fent from God, and that the Doctrine I preach is for the establishment of His Kingdom; ver. 28; But if I caft out Devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. For, as one's entring into a ftrong man's house, and forcibly difpoffeffing him of his Goods, is an evident Demonftration, that he who fo enters, is ftronger and comes with greater Authority, than he that had the firft Poffeffion: So my breaking the Power of Devils, by cafting them out of the Bodies, and destroying their Dominion over the Minds of Men, is

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SER M.an undeniable Proof of my being fent by I. a Power and Authority greater than theirs; ver. 29; Or else how can one enter into a Strongs man's boufe and fpoil his goods, except. he first bind the firong man, and then he will spoil his goods? The connexion of the followings Words, ver. 30, is more difficult to be understood; for they may seem at first fight to be abrupt, and independent on what went before; He that is not

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with me, is against me; and he that ga-
thereth not with me, fcattereth abroad:
But the True intent of them, is, to illu-
ftrate and confirm what went before, in
fome fuch Manner as This: When two
great Powers are at [open and ] irreconcile-
able Enmity against each other, even he
who only forbears joining with one fide,
is thereupon reputed to be against it; ac-
cording to the ufual Proverb, He that is
not with me, is against me: How much
more therefore (infers our Saviour) ought

ye
to believe that I, who have actually
done Jo much towards deftroying the Pow-
er and Kingdom of the Devil, am really
and in Truth acting in oppofition against
him, and not by confederacy with him!

And

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And then he adds in the Words of the SER M. Text; Wherefore I fay unto you, All manner of Sin and Blafphemy fall be forgiven unto men; but the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, fhall not be forgiven unto men. The meaning is: Since 'tis as evident, as 'tis, poffible for any thing to be, that the Works which I do, are by the immediate Authority of God, and by the Power of his Holy Spirit; Therefore whofoever shall refift this great Conviction, by fo unreafonable and obftinate a degree of Malice, as to afcribe these very Works, these greateft and highest Evidences of Divine Authority, to the Power of the Devil; To fuch a Perfon God will never afford any further Means of Conviction: And therefore though all other Blafphemies and all particular Sins whatsoever, may be repented of and forgiven; yet He who is guilty of this Total corruption of Mind, this maliciously perverse and defperate Rejecting of the greatest and higheft Conviction that God vouchfafes to afford men, fhall never have granted him any further Means, of Repentance and Forgiveness. Every particular Kind, or Sort of Sin, whatsoever; VOL. VI.

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and

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SER M. and all other Blafphemies whatsoever, fhall be forgiven men: Even he that speaks against Me, (fays our Lord,) in all other refpects; or calumniates me, upon any other account whatfoever; and is not and is not at first convinced by my preaching and Exhortations; may yet afterwards be convinced by the mighty Works he fhall fee, and by the Power of the Holy Ghoft; and fo repent and be forgiven: But he who obftinately refifts even this greatest and most extraordinary Method, which God has thought fit to make ufe of for the Conver fion of Mankind; and maliciously reviles the most evident Operations of the Spirit of God; fuch a One has no further Means left, by which he might be convinced and brought to Repentance, and confeqently he can never be forgiven. Whofoever Speaketh a Word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whofoever Speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it Shall not be forgiven him, neither in this World, neither in the World to come.

The Connexion and general Meaning of the Words being thus explained, I fhall for the further and more particular clear

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